"She just smacked you, Davis?" Kimi questioned. The tournament is only days away and everyone who is competing was getting as much training as they could in. At the moment, Davis met up with the girls and told them about the new transfer student.

"Yeah. It was certainly a surprise to everyone." Serene said.

"Who does she think she is?" Kimi said.

"What she said next was strange as well. She said that Davis was weak." Sierra said. "Do you think she did that to get a read on Davis' strength or something?"

"She could have at least waited until I hit on her before she decided to hit me." Davis joked.

"Davis, please don't joke like that." Serene said. "Obviously this Fria girl is quite a troubled girl. What if she decides to do something like that again or worse?"

"All she did was slap me and she got me when my guard was down." Davis said. "Where's Lita? Let's hear what she has to think of this."

"She's doing as much training as she could to prepare for the tournament. It won't be long until it shows up." Kimi said. "Since Lita doesn't have her own I.S. like the rest of us, she's got some ground to cover."

"Oh! Have you girls decided on who your partners are going to be?" Davis asked.

"No. We have not." Serene said.

"Yeah. We decided to let our partner be drawn randomly. There really isn't anyone we would like" Kimi said. 'Mostly because I wanted to partner with you, you idiot. You just had to pick the Italian chick.' She thought.

'I was hoping to use this tournament as a way to get closer to Davis and learn more about him.' Serene thought. 'Instead I'll be partnering with someone I want nothing to do with.' Both of them glared at Sierra and Sierra was starting to get nervous from it.

'Oh my. I feel like I've opened Pandora's Box when I agreed to be partnered with Davis.' Sierra thought. Given with her being the most recent member of this group and is partnered with Davis, she's going to get the stink eye a lot.

…

Lita

Lita was doing her own kind of training. Since she'll be using a training I.S., it's most likely she'll be using a sword as her weapon and she's pretty familiar with one. She used a kendo stick and kept swiping the sword.

"Not bad." Lita turned around and spotted Houki.

"Houki? What are you doing here?" Lita asked.

"Kendo's my thing actually." Houki said as she walked over to her. "You want a few tips on how to use a sword. Spread your legs out a little more, keep your balance, and swung with all your might." Lita did what she suggested and adjusted herself. Lita swung down and she could feel some difference.

"Not bad." Lita said.

"You must be pumped for this tournament, but you must be upset that you're not partnered with Davis." Houki said.

"What? I'm…..I'm not." Lita said as she tried to hide some embarrassment.

"It's okay, Lita. A little other piece of advice, try not to take all that rage and anger out on another." Houki said. "I made the same mistake myself once. I was so upset that my life was turned around because the I.S. was invented and I took it out in the ring of my kendo matches."

"What happened?" Lita asked.

"It was just my dark side taking over. I lost control and nearly hurt a few people." Houki said. "Don't make the same mistake I made. Whatever happens in the ring, keep your composure. Trust me. It's better than you getting consumed in rage and frustration." Lita didn't think that would happen, but it's probably best she's informed about that now than later.

"Thanks, Houki. I almost forgot what it's like having someone watching over me." Lita said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that? Doesn't your family help you out with that?" Houki said.

"No. Truth be told, my parents died when I was very young." Lita said. "I do have an older brother, but he and I don't really see eye-to-eye."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know." Houki said. "Where is your brother now? What does he do?"

"He's actually considered a genius. He's actually studying the I.S."

"That sounds impressive. You know, I think you and I might have more in common than you might think." Houki said and Lita took some comfort knowing someone like Houki has her back.

…

Davis

Davis was walking through the halls of the academy. As he did, he couldn't stop thinking about Fria. She just smacked him with no reason. Davis placed his hand on his face where she did it and he remembered the look in her eyes. It was one of where predator looks down on easily caught prey when they wanted a bit of a challenge.

"What is her deal?" Davis said.

"Whoa! Oof!" Davis looked ahead and saw Cecilia tripped with a box of books opened with Rin, Laura, and Charlotte carrying some upstairs.

"Nice move." Rin said.

"Hey. You okay?" Davis said as he helped Cecilia up.

"Yes. Thank you. I just tripped was all." Cecilia said. Davis helped gathered the books with some help of the others.

"Thank you, Davis." Charlotte said.

"No problem. Hey, have any of you heard about the new transfer student in my class? Her name is Fria Ivankin." Davis said.

"How could we?" Rin asked.

"Actually, I have heard a few things." Cecilia said.

"As have I. I heard that she struck you down, Davis." Laura said.

"Yeah. She kind of did, but I don't know why." Davis said. "She's actually the representative from Russia."

"Is she now?" Charlotte questioned.

"That might be a little bit of a problem for Tatenashi." Rin said.

"What do you mean? Is Tatenashi actually Russia's representative too?" Davis asked.

"Not exactly. She is a representative, but it sounds like this Fria is a representative contender." Charlotte said.

"What's the difference?" Davis said.

"Oh! I guess you haven't learned yet." Charlotte said.

"Allow me to explain." Cecilia said. "Representative contenders are like us and your friends. We represent our countries and are given our own units. A simple representative is someone who has the potential to be contender. Tatenashi is one for Russia. Even Miss Orimura was the same for Japan."

"Do you get it?" Laura asked. "Fria is actually representing Russia while Tatenashi holds a chance. From what I have heard of this Fria, she is someone to be reckoned with."

"Okay. I think I get it." Davis said as he grabbed the last book and learned to be cautious of Fria. "Anyway, do you girls need some help with this stuff?"

"So nice of you." Cecilia said and Davis helped them carry the boxes.

….

Ichika

Ichika was able to get in a vacant arena and was in his training attire. He knows better than to let Houki down. So he decided to get in some extra training in.

"Okay. Let's do this." Ichika said and released his Byakushiki. "I don't want to let Houki down and since Davis is looking forward to a match between us, I better give him a real challenge." Ichika was looking forward to this, but before he could do anything, a shot was fire and flew right by right in front of him. "What the hell? What was that?"

"Privet, Orimura." Ichika looked to the side and saw Fria in her own personal unit. It was black like the midnight sky with her feet like talons. She wore dark grey training attire with a vest-like structure on her chest. She also had broad crafts hovering over shoulders shaped like shoulder pads and it looked like she had pointed ears on her head.

"Who are you?" Ichika asked.

"Fria Ivankin. That is really all you need to know."

"Fria Ivankin? Oh yeah. Davis mentioned you to me." Ichika said. "That's quite the I.S. you have there." Fria acted like he didn't hear him as several screens appeared around her.

"So this is the Byakushiki I've heard about." Fria said. "You're also the only other male pilot at this academy and in the world. Though, from what I'm seeing, I'm not really all that impressed."

"What are you talking about?" Ichika questioned.

"Since you are among a rare breed of I.S. pilots, that must mean you're strong. I'm disappointed because you don't appear to be." Fria said. "To think women cling to you like a knight. That shows how weak they are as well and show poor judgement of character. They should rely on their own strength and see how pitiful you are."

"What are you talking about? Where do you get off saying stuff like that anyway?" Ichika said.

"I actually feel remorse for Instructor Orimura as well, you're elder sister." Fria said and Ichika was on guard about that. "She was a champion at some point. A very strong woman, but she dropped it all for you from what I heard. She must feel shame having you as a brother."

"Damn you!" Ichika said as he held out his sword to her. "I don't know what your deal is, but you better watch what you say about Chifuyu around me."

"Is that so? Care to prove me wrong?" Fria dared and Ichika could not ignore her.

…

Davis

"There we go." Davis said as he finished helping the girls move the supplies.

"Thank you for the help, Davis." Charlotte said. That was when a few students ran by and they heard what was going on.

"Hurry. Orimura's battling right now."

"I heard he's against that new transfer student."

"Ichika's fighting?" Rin questioned.

"Transfer student? Fria!" Davis said and he was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

….

The Arena

Davis and the girls hurried over to the arena where the fight was going on. The fight was drawing a crowd and they all tried get a good look as to what was going on.

"Davis!" Davis turned around and saw Houki with his friends running in.

"You guys heard what's going on too?" Davis said.

"Yeah." Serene said.

"How's Ichika doing?" Houki asked.

"I don't know." Davis said. They heard something crashed into the ground and saw that something was Ichika. It looked like a losing battle for him as Fria didn't even looked exhausted.

"That I.S. is Russia's third generation! That's the Chernyy D'yavol." Serene said.

"That's Russian for Black Devil." Lita said. Ichika was able to get back on his feet and was able to keep fighting.

"How disappointing." Fria said. Ichika flew in the air and used his left arm to fire energy shots at Fria, but Fria held out her arm and an energy shield was formed to block the attack.

"That….that was the A.I.C.!" Laura said.

"I thought you were the only one who had that." Charlotte said.

"The what?" Davis questioned.

"Active Inertia Canceller." Houki said. "It can stop an attack and even prevent an I.S. from even moving. I thought Laura was the only one who had that, but apparently that's not the case." Ichika was starting to get annoyed with this girl. The hover crafts over Fria's shoulder opened up and shot a couple grapples. They wrapped around Ichika's arms and was pulling him in.

"Let's see you dodge this." Fria said. The crafts fired multiple shots at him and Ichika's shield was going down so fast. Fria pulled Ichika in closer and struck him hard.

"This girl is ruthless!" Lita said.

"She's not showing any mercy." Kimi said. Ichika tried to get back up, but Fria used the A.I.C. to keep him from moving. Fria had a weapon on her back revolve around her and connected to her waist and it extended to a cannon. Fria smirked as she powered it up and fired it at real close range.

"Ichika!" Houki shouted. Ichika's shield was practically depleted and he couldn't hold on much longer, but that didn't stop Fria as she grabbed him by the head and lifted him up.

"Just as I thought." Fria said and pounded him hard again and was doing some real damage. Fria wasn't stopping at anything and Ichika was starting to get actually hurt.

"Ichika!" Cecilia shouted.

"Damn you!" Laura said.

"Stop it! You already won!" Rin said. Fria didn't care. She just kept attacking him and she wasn't showing any mercy. She gabbed Ichika and held him up to deal the final blow. She deployed a halberd-like weapon and was getting ready to finish him.

"Don't do it! Stop!" Houki pleaded.

"Out of the way!" Davis said. They saw he backed up and was about to deploy his unit. Davis released Dragonic Heaven and charged right in and smashed through the barrier that protected the stands. "Fria! Stop it!" Davis pulled out Sutapisa and swung it at Fria. Fria saw the attack coming and blocked it, but Davis got her to move away from Ichika as he dropped to the ground and Byakushiki vanished.

"Ichika!" His friends called out as they all ran to him, but he was hardly conscious. Davis looked at what she did and was plenty angry himself.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Davis said to her. "You were going way too far. You could have killed him."

"It would be his own fault for being weak." Fria said.

"Weak?" Davis said.

"Da. The strong survive and the weak should just perish." Fria said.

"That's it. No one talks about my friends like that!" Davis said as he charged right at her, but she used her halberd to keep him back. Ichika's friends watched in horror of what was going on. "Don't just stand there! Get Ichika some medical help before you get caught in the crossfire."

"Oh right!" Houki said. She and Cecilia helped Ichika stand and they all got out of there. Fria pushed Davis back and used the A.I.C. against Davis and he found himself unable to move. Fria took aim at him as well and was about to finish him, but some bullets and lasers were shot and Fria had to move out of the way.

"Davis!" Sierra called out as she and Serene flew in and helped him out.

"Damn you!" Fria said. Kimi joined in as she unleashed her blades to attack her, but Fria stopped that as well. All Lita could do was watch and she hated it.

"If only I had my own I.S., I could help them. Instead, all I can do is watch. Damn it!" Lita said as she pounded her hand against the railing. Fria fought Kimi off and pushed her back. Davis too this opportunity to attack.

"You're mine!" Davis said, but Fria disagreed as she was about to attack him. Just when they were about to collide, Chifuyu showed up and used two swords to stop both of them. "Miss Orimura?!"

"Back away. Both of you." Chifuyu said and they both did what she said. "I don't know what was going on here, but breaking the barrier and endangering students is not tolerated here. You'll be able to use the arenas for training, but you're all prohibited from personal matches until the tournament. Is that clear?"

"If that is what the instructor wishes." Fria said and sent her I.S. to its close mode which was a brace near her right shoulder. Davis and the others did the same with Fria walking away. Chifuyu looked towards Ichika and hated to see him like that.

"Hey, Ivankin." Davis said and got her attention. Davis held up a fist to her. "Better watch it cause in the tournament, I'm taking you down."

"Ha. As if you can." Fria said as she shrugged it off and kept walking. Davis won't forgive her for this.

…..

The Infirmary

Ichika was finally starting to wake up, but he was in a lot of pain. He was able to sit up and saw he was surrounded by his friends and all of them looked glad.

"Ichika, you're awake." Charlotte said.

"How are you feeling?" Rin asked.

"I think I'll be okay." Ichika said as he sat up. "What happened?"

"You have Davis to thank for saving you. What were you doing getting in a fight with that girl?" Houki said.

"I had to. She insulted Chifuyu and looked down on everything about me and her." Ichika said. "I'll just settle the score with her in the tournament."

"I'm afraid you can't, Ichika." Cecilia said. "Miss Yamada just informed us. With your injuries and the damage to Byakushiki, you won't be able to compete in the tournament. You won't recover until just after it begins."

"Seriously?" Ichika said. "Sorry, Houki. I didn't want to let you down, but it looks like I did." Houki hit him on the head for that.

"Idiot. I'm more concerned about you than that tournament." Houki said.

"Houki, don't make his injuries worse than they already are." Serene said.

"Sorry to you too, Davis." Ichika said. "I know you were looking forward to a match between me and you, but it looks like that's not happening."

"Don't worry about it. We can do it another time." Davis said. "Right now, there's only one person I want to beat. Fria thinks strength is everything and that the weak should just be destroyed. I don't know what her problem is, but I'm not putting up with it. Sierra!"

"Yeah?" Sierra said.

"You and I are going to have to train harder. Fria is someone I refuse to lose to." Davis said and she was in full agreement with that. "Better watch out, Fria. I'm coming for you." Ichika and Houki are out, but Davis is not backing down. He's got one target in the tournament and he' not stopping until he reaches her.

…

Davis: The tournament is just about here. I came this far and I'm not going anywhere until I get to Fria. I don't know what her problem is. What makes her think it's okay to be like this. Either way, I need to be ready for when the tournament comes. Nothing is going to stop me until I reach Fria and take her down a notch.

Next time: Showdowns Draw Closer

Oh boy. Just when I thought things here couldn't get any more whacked